Thoughts&expressionsgeneralessays

GENERAL ESSAYS

THOUGHTS... & EXPRESSIONS

Selected best works from the inaugural Times of Oman Literary Contest

A literary initiative from Muscat Media Group

general essays

Selected best works from the inaugural Times of Oman Literary Contest

A literary initiative from

Muscat Media Group

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A WORD FROM THE CEO

Ahmed Essa Al Zedjali CEO Muscat Media Group

Published by Muscat Media Group P O Box : 770, Postal Code 112 Ruwi, Sultanate of Oman

The book is an authorized publication of selected winning entries of the inaugural Times of Oman Literary Contest. All content in this book is declared original works of the credited authors who also hold their copyrights and MMG holds no responsibility in the event of any contrary claim which may be taken up with the respective author directly.

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On behalf of the MMG team, I wish to convey the heartiest congratulations to all the winners and participants in the inaugural “Times of Oman Literary Contest”.

MMG’s work ethos has always revolved around the empowerment of our readers and we believe that real empowerment comes not just from sharing of knowledge and information but from providing a channel for expression as well. As we move forward into a new digital era where geographical barriers no longer exist for communication of thoughts and ideas, effective expression holds the key. Contests of this nature open the doors of young minds, enabling them to be creative, thoughtful and introspective. The excellent and overwhelming response we have received bears testimony to the abundance of latent literary talent in the region.

We look forward to your continued enthusiasm and participation as the contest evolves in the coming years. I would also like to thank our business partners who have come forward and shared our values and vision in this new endeavour and look forward to their continued association in the future editions.

Best Wishes.

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SPONSOR’S MESSAGE

FOREWORD

A LANDMARK OFFERING

SUPPORTING LOCAL TALENT

Pradeep Govind Head-Literary Contest Committee Muscat Media Group

The Times of Oman Literary Contest is yet another landmark offering from Muscat Media Group, aimed at providing a platform for talented and aspiring writers to express themselves and benchmark their writing skills with the best in the region. The inaugural edition was launched on September 1st 2013 and open for submissions till January 9, 2014. The contest was held in Short Stories, General Essays and Poetry in the age group of 10-15 years and above 15 years. Online participation was also enabled for the contest. Unlike the regular writing contests normally held in the region, this competition was unique in the sense that there was no restriction on the topic. The participants were given a free run for their imagination and over four months to write, refine and submit their work. The evaluation of the submissions was made by an independent panel of highly eminent judges with weightage given to originality, presentation, language, theme and overall impact.

It was heartening to see the fantastic and enthusiastic response to the contest from across the Sultanate. The contest had participation from nationals of various countries encompassing India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, UK, USA, Ireland, France, Australia, Canada, Nigeria, Venezuela, Philippines, Egypt, Tanzania, Jordan, Iraq, Singapore, China, Scotland and of course the host country.. Oman. Even more interesting was the response to the online participation. The fact that many of the online submissions were made in the hours of the night as late as 2 am is an indication of the seriousness and commitment of the participants. The results were announced in May 2014 and due to the overwhelming requests we have been getting, MMG has decided to bring out the award winning entries in this book for your reading pleasure.

MMG congratulates all the prize winners and the honourable award winners for their achievement in this inaugural edition and also thanks all those who participated and wishes great success in their writing endeavors in the years ahead. We look forward to more participation in the future editions of the contest in the coming years. MMG also wishes to thank the panel of judges for their valuable time and enthusiasm for the project and also our business associates who came forward as our partners in this historic and landmark event in the field of literature, a first of its kind in the region.

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ZUBAIR CORPORATION This initiative is part of our strategy to implement meaningful community-based initiatives throughout Omani society. Achieving good levels of literacy by forming the habit of reading regularly is a lifetime skill for every member of the community. Communicating with the society allows for the study of issues arising from the heart of the community by identifying its needs. The Zubair Corporation endeavors to engage the conscious youth, who are aware of the needs of the community.

Khalid bin Mohammed Al-Zubair, Managing Director of The Zubair Corporation and the head of the Social Advisory Committee

SOHAR ALUMINIUM

We are quite pleased to have been a part of this unique initiative to promote literary talents in Oman. We at Sohar Aluminium believe in empowerment at all levels. Empowerment cannot be attained by the industrial aspect alone, but also by the intellectual growth of its people. The English writer Alfred North Whitehead once said “It is in literature that the concrete outlook Eng. Said Mohamed of humanity receives its expression”. Indeed, through literature Al Masoudi CEO we not only express our perspective of the world with its tangible Sohar Aluminium and abstract notions, but also contribute to the promotion of our culture. Oman has always been a cradle of magnificent literature, and great poets and writers have emerged from this land. Thus it’s only our duty to maintain this literary tradition and be part of the on-going development of our nation.

JINDAL SHADEED

I am indeed very happy that the contest was concluded with great success. I welcome the initiatives taken up by Times of Oman to bring hidden talents of the youth. The opportunity created by the group was harnessed fully by all the contestants. The contest gave ample opportunity to the youth to display their talents in the field of literature. I heartily congratulate the winners of this contest and am very happy to note their deep knowledge levels at this tender age. May The Almighty Allah bless them.

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N A Ansari CEO Jindal Shadeed Iron & Steel

JUDGING PANEL

JUDGING PANEL

SELECTING ONLY THE BEST WORKS Donald Sargent He is a regional teacher, trainer and advisor in the Ministry of Education. His connection with Oman goes back to 1977 when he first came to work in Oman. Of the last 36 years, 19 have been spent in Oman, with breaks to go and work in Poland, China, Russia, the UAE and Saudi Arabia. He was born in Dublin, which accounts for his interest in Anglo-Irish literature. His favourite poet is Ireland’s greatest poet. W.B. Yeats.

He went to the same school as Yeats and one of his prized possessions is a signed book the poet gave his mother.

His primary love is the theatre and as a child acted in many plays at the famous Gate theatre in Dublin. Though an ambition to be a full time actor was never realized, he has kept his interest in the theatre by acting and directing many amateur productions in countries where he worked.

He also helped to produce and act in a series called ‘English and the Arts’ for Polish TV and acted in a series of scenes for teaching English for Chinese TV. Whenever in the UK he makes it a point to attend as many plays as possible and it is his aim to see all the Shakespearean cannon. He tries to read the literature of a wider world including Arabic literature. He makes it a point to try and read the Mann Booker shortlist each year.

Sonia Ambrosio de Nelson She is an assistant professor in department of Mass Communications in Sultan Qaboos University and was previously an assistant professor at Sohar University in the Journalism and Communication Programme since 2008. Born in Brazil, Sonia has a MA and PhD from the National University of Singapore. Before entering the academe Sonia worked as a reporter and completed her journalism career as an international correspondent to the BBC World Service - Brazil Section and other broadcasting and publishing houses. Since entering the academe, Sonia has been active in bridging the gap between the practice and the education of journalism. In Oman, Sonia is involved in community activities; she is also a regular speaker in the areas of communication and journalism in the Sultanate.

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Michele Ni Thoghdha Michele Ni Thoghdha, fondly known as Mish Mish, is the Chief Supervisor for English with MOE, Oman. As a child she had great difficulty in learning how to speak and was greatly helped by her Mum and a speech teacher by the name of Nuala Johnson. She subsequently went on to study to be an English, History, Speech & Drama and Public Speaking teacher. She studied at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland and also at the Guildhall School of Music, Speech & Drama, London, UK. Prior to coming to Oman she worked in the Irish State School system for several years. Subsequently, she worked extensively both as a teacher and teacher trainer with the Refugee Council and The Red Cross prior to coming to Oman in 1989. She has a long relationship with the Times of Oman. She is a committee member of the Times of Oman Readers Club. She loved being involved in the ‘Times of Oman Literary Contest’ as it was an experience that was both very enriching and humbling.

Patricia Groves Patricia Groves is a distinguished Canadian educator who lectured on the Social History of Art & Music, as well as on the Media for 17 years, before assuming high-level executive posts in the Canadian Higher Education system. Resident in Oman since 1997, Dr Groves currently holds the post of Academic Advisor on the University of Oman Project at the Ministry of Higher Education.

She spends her leisure time writing and loves working with Hi as an ‘Art and Culture’ columnist. In addition to reviews of art and cultural events and travel writing, she has published a book on Oman’s forts and castles, called ‘Strongholds of Heritage’, and wrote the text for Mohammed Zubair’s beautiful book, ‘Oman’s Architectural Journey.’

The book she wrote on Omani and Indian painting called ‘Art Across the Ocean’ is forthcoming. She also edited a world cuisine cookbook, as well as editing ‘Memoirs of an Omani Gentleman from Zanzibar’. Dr Patricia is presently a major writer for a new book on the Royal Opera House Muscat.

Jane Jaffer Bickmore Jane Jaffer Bickmore is an author of several books. She is also a professional therapeutic counsellor, a Reiki healer, and chairperson of the charity ‘Let’s Read’. The Let’s Read Committee promotes the love of reading to children in Oman and recently launched Maktabati, Oman’s first mobile library.’ She is a friend of the media in Oman and has been contributing meaningful educative articles, from time to time, in Times of Oman, Hi Weekly, and other publications.

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CONTENTS General Essays 1 The Man Mandela Emenyeonu Joseph 4 Save our Souls, Save our lives!

Arun Anantha Pai 10 Mom’s the Word Sujatha Sengupta 13 A Selfie World Criselda Monice Razo 16 Going Beyond Self Katharine Abraham 21 Homecoming Russel Yusuf Ogston 24 Impact of Disney Princesses on People’s Lives Ashima Prakash 28 My Father is Abdullah.

Meet an Omani Father Rahma Abdullah Rashid Al Aamri 32 Erosion of Idealism Shahzad Ahmad 40 From Illusion to Illumination – Through Order and Chaos Shyamala R Iyer 47 The Many Folds : Blanket of Darkness Ayesha Ikram Burney

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The Man Mandela Emenyeonu Joseph(1st Prize winner)

Perhaps it is William Butler Yeats poem ‘The Second Coming’ that best paints the picture of indignation and resignation in South Africa. Yeats wrote, “Turning and turning in a widening gyre, the falcon cannot hear the falconer; things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; mere anarchy is loosed upon the world….’’. Things have really fallen apart and tremulous voices are heard all over the rainbow nation and beyond, weeping, wailing and loud lamentations. They refuse to be consoled because the ‘giant of history’, the great iroko sheltering birds of all plumages has fallen. Nelson Mandela, Madiba, is no more.

Words alone cannot aptly express the hurt in our hearts, the fear in our eyes and the tremor in our voices as the news of Madiba’s demise filtered in from all major international satellite TV stations. Like Macbeth responded to the news of his wife lady Macbeth, many of us voiced a defiant despair. Many of us thought he ‘’should have died hereafter’’, we thought ‘’there should have been a time for such a word, tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow…’’ but alas, the man Mandela had sung the nunc dimitis after a life of dedicated service to his people and fulfillment of his dreams. The barrage and avalanche of tributes pouring in from world leaders, the small and mighty, pay eloquent testimony to the stoicism and mythical persona that was Mandela. It is heartwarming though to note that Mandela is not only being sung at death but was also celebrated alive. According to the hero of anti-apartheid, in his autobiography ‘Long Walk to Freedom’ which recounted his release from prison after 27 years, ‘’When I was among the crowd I raised my right fist

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and there was a roar. I had not been able to do that for 27 years and it gave me a surge of strength and joy…’’ These joyful ululations of the life and times of Mandela find voice and resonance in the words of the late Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, the first indigenous Head of State of Nigeria who said, ‘’ Do not wait till death has claimed my soul before you chant your eulogy’’, and that ‘’Post humous praise can reach no goal when man becomes an effigy’’.

It will be stating the obvious saying that Mandela’s life, apart from many other virtues, was ensconced in the tripod genres of Liberation, forgiveness and reconciliation. It may have been the most didactic irony of fate that the man who was given the name ‘Rolihlahla’-the trouble maker- by his teacher, became not only the peace maker but also the great healer. It will take only a man in the mold of Mandela to throw open his arms in a convivial and affectionate gesture of reconciliation to his jailors who put him away from his family and friends, from his life and dreams. There’s always light at the end of a dark tunnel and a streak of silver lining at the end of every storm thus when light appeared at the end of Madiba’s long tortuous walk to freedom, and like metal put in fire, he came out of the heath that was prison purified, cleansed and glowing like raw gold stowed in a showcase. What other proof that God immerses us in deep waters not to drown us but to cleanse us. We saw a Mandela walking out of prison gates neither with drooping shoulders nor in low spirits but with heads held high. We saw a Mandela who came out of prison not pursuing vengeance and vendetta for according to him; if he didn’t leave his bitterness and hatred behind, it would mean he was still in prison. Rather, we saw a venerable white haired elder statesman brandishing his charismatic charm embedded in his native Ubuntu - an age long belief that there is strength in unity. Apartheid was anathema to him and he set about reducing it to a quaint anachronism. Upon casting the slough of imprisonment, Mandela set about in his life ordained task of healing and reconciliation. To him, an eye for an eye was a mere dissipation of energy and instead, he directed his anger at the system that put him away at the apogee of his youth and not at the white minority that facilitated it. In his inauguration speech on the 10th of May 1994 as the first black president of post-apartheid South Africa, President Mandela stood before a mammoth and cheering crowd and reassured all South Africans most especially the minority White who thought his presidency would mean reprisals for their barbaric apartheid regime. ‘’The time for the healing of the wounds has come. The moment to bridge the chasms that divide us has come. The time to build is upon us…we enter into a covenant that we shall build a society in which all South Africans, both black and white, will be able to walk tall, without any fear in their hearts, assured of their inalienable right to human dignity – a rainbow nation at peace with itself and the world’’.

sit-tight rulers like Mugabe of Zimbabwe and ObiangNguema of Equatorial Guinea etc came in messages that belied their political and economic demeanor. Perhaps, top on the list of the tongue-in-the-cheek eulogies came from President Bashir Assad of Syria who is at the moment fighting a blood soaked rebellion and revolt against his regime and who is believed in local and international circles to have used chemical weapons of mass destruction on his people. In his tribute, Assad hailed Mandela’s life as an inspiration to freedom fighters and a lesson to tyrants. In his words, Assad said of Mandela, “ Mandela’s life was an inspiration to freedom fighters and a lesson to tyrants, an inspiration in the values of love and brotherhood’’. Continuing, he said, “His history of struggle has become an inspiration to all vulnerable peoples of the world, in the expectation that oppressors will learn the lesson that it is they who are the losers’’. But in a veiled reference to Mugabe, Assad and a coterie of other world leaders who run their countries as fiefdoms, president Obama while making a speech at Mandela’s memorial said, “There are too many of us who happily embrace Madiba’s legacy of racial reconciliation but passionately resist even modest reforms that would challenge chronic poverty and growing inequality. There are too many world leaders who claim solidarity with Mandela’s struggle for freedom, but do not tolerate dissent from their own people’’.

Mandela’s death also brought together an ensemble of world leaders — compatible and strange bedfellows, friends and foes, capitalism and imperialism, angels and demons, bourgeoisies and proletariats, the good, bad and ugly. The highlight of this admixture of hubris was the historic handshake between President Barack Obama of the US and Raul Castro of Cuba whose countries have been having frosty relations following America’s incursion into Cuban soil in the failed insurrection – de Bahia de Cochinos – that was targeted at overthrowing the regime of Fidel Castro. That handshake was hailed as upholding Mandela’s legacy of reconciliation.

As we clang our cymbals and beat the tom tom in celebrating the times and death of Mandela, we should take a sneak peek into our own lives and like the revered and renowned Arch-Bishop emeritus Desmond Tutu admonished us at Madiba’s memorial, strive to live the Mandela example.

Like all great men and women of history, Mandela’s death threw up a cornucopia of twists, turns, ironies and paradoxes. From all the tributes that came from world leaders in near and distant climes, the ones that kept us thinking if their senders hadn’t sent out the wrong messages were the ones from Mandela’s African neighbours. From the cult of

Mandela may have passed on but his spirit lives on for according to Mitch Albom, ‘Death ends a life, not a relationship’’. From the late US president JF Kennedy, ‘’A man may die, nations may rise and fall but an idea lives on’’. And from Mandela himself, ‘’Death is something inevitable. When a man has done what he considers to be his duty to his people and his country, he can now rest in peace’’. You came, you saw, you conquered and now it is time to rest in peace. Rest in peace Nelson Mandela. Adieu Madiba. Goodbye Tata. Laa nke oma nwoke oma. Aurevoir Monsieur. Masalama habibi. Adios amigos. Auf wiedersehen the giant of history. There was once a man called Mandela and there may never be another like him. Amandla!

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Save Our Souls, Save Our Lives!

Arun Anantha Pai (2nd Prize winner)

I am the Tiger, proud to be the national animal of India. People say I am the most magnificent and the most beautiful animal of the Indian jungle. I am also the most powerful predator in the jungle, at the top of the food chain. I am a solitary creature. The jungle relays alarm calls to warn the other animals of my presence. I am the king of the jungle, most supreme and most feared.

But sadly, gone are the days when I was truly the king of the jungles, ruling over my subjects, the animals that lived in my kingdom. Alas, today the king is the hunted and my kingdom is fast receding and my subjects are fast diminishing. I am the national animal of India, which is one of the last refuges for the wild tiger population in the world…but even here, me and my subjects are not safe, living under the constant threat of the gun, traps, explosives, etc. We are indiscriminately slaughtered by man, who we do not even consider as our enemy!! Why then do we meet with this gory end…a fate that we do not deserve? What wrong have we done to mankind? I have but lived in his shadow always, taking care not to cross his path. Even when our paths cross, I exercise caution such that man is mostly ignorant of my presence, though so close. I would never harm him, unless provoked.

we lost the race, we too lived into the present century, but we could have made it in much bigger numbers, had we not been diminished ruthlessly.

For the kings and their royal family of every state in India, in which we were present, tiger-hunt was a popular royal sport. It was believed that a record performance in killing tigers was a sign of prowess of a king or prince, a sign of manliness. This took a heavy toll on our population. Our already dwindling numbers, reduced even further, when the British who ruled India also took to the so far ‘royal’ sport of hunting tigers. Those days, permits were readily issued to the White ‘Sahibs’ to hunt tigers in various game reserves.

Some hunters were even called upon to end the careers of many man-eaters and cattle lifters, in the pursuit of which, many innocent tigers and their prey were gunned down too. At times, the end of a single day’s hunt saw several tigers and leopards accounted for.

India is already deprived of the Cheetah, which was ruthlessly hunted, till there were no more, one fateful day in the year 1947, the same year that India got her freedom. I pray that I don’t meet a similar fate in the future.

On the paths and jungle tracks that many tigers treaded before me, today I find myself almost alone. Where is the rest of my clan? Why do I have to fight so much with my few surviving peers for food, mates and territory? Even though just a few of us remain, our struggle for survival has only increased, due to the unfortunate circumstances that man has created for us, leading to shortage of privacy, space, territory, mates and food.

Why is my kingdom being reduced by the day? The mindless growth in human population has put pressure on land, for their housing and cultivation, besides setting up industries and ever growing townships. Our jungles, rightfully our only refuge is infringed by man, pushing us further into an ever reducing and degrading piece of land that cannot be called a jungle anymore. Man’s might and power gives him the undue right to prioritize his needs over ours. We have been understanding and tolerant. Anyways, we are too meek to stand up to the power he has acquired through weapons and ammunitions. Even a powerful animal like me is no match to man’s strength and cunning.

What baffles me most is that man’s greed has got the better of him. How else would he explain the reason for our wanton slaughter to satisfy his greed…greed for money, better lifestyle, power, health and wealth? Many of us are being killed for our commercial value… for the huge price our skins, bones, claws, tusks, etc. fetch. Unfortunately, our body parts are priceless in the international markets, sold as ornaments, garments, medicines that provide relief against many ailments, etc.

In the good old days, we were so numerous that one wondered as to who would survive dominantly into the next century, humans or tigers. Man clearly outnumbered us. Though

Man has lost all consideration for animals, forests and the natural wealth that he is surrounded with. Short-term gains have blinded him from realizing the long-term losses that he is incurring and also bringing upon us. He is inviting the wrath of nature. Man is

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indulging in two dangerous practices. He is either killing too many of us, leading to excess population of the ungulates, the prey. Or man is hunting our prey in such big numbers that we do not have enough to eat. This forces us to resort to killing cattle from villages around the forests, which is the immediate alternative to our natural food. Men illegally use protected forest areas in Tiger Reserves as grazing ground for their cattle. Forced by hunger, when we kill some of these cattle, man-tiger conflict escalates. We become man’s sworn enemies, whom he eliminates by trapping them and spearing or stoning to death.

At times they are killed by poisoning the carcass or their jaws are blown apart by placing crude country made bombs in the carcass, which explode when the tiger bites into his kill.

In very rare circumstances, we may be forced to turn to eating human beings, which is not our staple diet. Tigers turn to man-eating, forced by extreme situations created mostly by man. At times hunters shoot tigers, failing to kill it instantly. The serious injuries inflicted by him, incapacitates tigers from hunting down their natural prey. Without speed, stealth and ability to ambush the prey in a surprise attack, we will fail to procure any food ever.

The first human kill may be accidental or intentional, but the ease with which a human victim can be procured, makes us more confident and therefore accomplished man-eater.

Once a man-eater, we invite the wrath of the human race, which will hunt us down and eliminate us. If we are lucky, we may be removed to a zoo, to be confined in a restricted area or even caged, from where only death can free us.

If punishment is awarded instantaneously to us for killing humans, however rare the occurrence may be, then why do men that kill tigers regularly go unpunished? Why are they let off, thus encouraging them to repeat their offence? Is there no value for our lives?

Whom do we turn to for protection?

Yet another grave offence man is committing against nature is ‘deforestation’. Trees are felled for timber, construction, furniture, fuel, etc. Nature’s balance is disturbed. Lack of trees leads to soil erosion, which in turn leads to flooding of areas around the forests, if at all the rain Gods bless us with a good monsoon. Moreover, deforestation adversely affects animals and birds that depend largely on these trees, thus making them homeless.

of several animals and birds. If not controlled in time, forest fires can lead to widespread destruction. These tribal people are rehabilitated in villages close to the forest, with good housing, education and medical facilities. They are offered jobs and business options.

Yet men are not happy! Why? Will their wants and needs never end? And who has given man the right to destroy nature? Has he become so powerful now that he dares to go against the Creator Himself?

Having been driven to the brink of extinction, my last hopes for my survival is support from the public and a strong political will, without both of which my existence will be doomed. The ruling class, the men in power should exercise strict control for my protection, and that of my habitat and my prey base. Government should introduce laws safeguarding the tigers in particular and wildlife in general. Besides, they should ensure total adherence to prevailing laws on poaching and smuggling of animal’s parts, both of which are rampant even today, though same had been banned many, many years back.

Something needs to be done for our survival. And that can be achieved through public support, required to coax the political class to act…and act in a hurry. The citizens of this country must spearhead the cause for my conservation and awaken all concerned to act really fast.

Children, the future of our country, are my future too. On them depends my future and my very existence. A seed for conservation of wildlife has to be sown in them at a very early age. I trust parents and teachers will inculcate a passion for wildlife in the children of today, so that the passion in them grows, as they grow into adults, and they contribute to my survival or at least influence, motivate, encourage and push those who can, to do something constructive and long-term. For the interest in my cause cannot be a shortterm one. Focus and efforts require to keep growing all the time, gaining momentum continuously.

Another evil created by man is ‘forest fires’. In peak summer, when the forest is dry, it is easy to ignite. Sometimes careless and at times intentionally, man starts forest fires, just to teach a lesson to the forest department and the government who force them to relocate to villages outside the forest. Their irresponsibility and cruel attitude take away the lives

We take our hats off to the officers and guards of the forest department. It is the sheer concern, courage, grit and tireless efforts of these brave men that protect us, our prey and our kingdom. If not for them, we would have been history long ago. They patrol our territories braving adverse conditions, using odd modes of transport including two wheelers. Some even walk several miles to ensure that all is well with our home and with us. They risk their lives, always remaining prone to attack from poachers, who are far better equipped and armed. Forest guards are no match to the outlaws who threaten them. It pains us to see our saviors lead a sad life, deprived of basic facilities like health, schooling, housing, etc. They are of immense value to us and therefore, we take care so that at least we do not harm them in any way. In their almost lone battle, forest guards weather the wrath of nature and risk to their lives by anti-social elements. While some of them are successful and keep the battle going, few others sacrificed their lives, only to

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In spite of best efforts by the forest department to relocate tribal people who live within the protected areas, large settlements still existed in the core zone, eating away into the small tract of the protected areas that should be our inviolate area. Man and tiger cannot share the same space.

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save ours. We respect them as ‘martyrs’. They do all this being fully aware that they will benefit no less, even if they avoid taking risks and going out of their way, rather than just do a halfhearted routine job. We are fortunate that most of the forest guards, rangers and their superiors consider our well-being a passion and a way of life…and they do not treat it just as their duty.

On behalf of other tigers and our prey base, I plead the mighty humans to be more compassionate towards us. Please stop killing us for your pleasure, needs and profit.

Stop the massacre and let us leave in peace. Give us our inviolate space, free from human intrusions, do not decimate our prey base and we will revive our dwindling population.

I am sad that some tigresses are forced to murder their own offspring, being unable to feed them, due to shortage of prey or due to human interference. If left alone, tigresses can freely raise their cubs to a safe adulthood. Today, many cubs do not live to grow into adults, due to unfavorable and avoidable factors induced by man. We will thrive and survive. Our prosperity will never burden the human race in anyway.

Let me not be an unknown element for the next generation, just as ‘Dinosaurs’ are to the current. Let Mr. Spielberg or others of his kind not have to make a ‘Jurassic park’ about me, the Tiger! Also, let me not be reduced to a few unfortunate specimens caged in zoos or others who are ridiculed and tortured at the circus. I must succeed to thrive in the wilderness, to the place that we rightly belong.

There is certainly more awareness today to my cause, which is proved by the everincreasing tiger tourism. More and more people visit us in the many tiger reserves across the country, which makes us happy and renews our hopes, since tiger tourism will raise awareness about our conditions and recognize the efforts of the Forest Department, whose untiring work, the tourists will witness. Tourism will also earn good revenue for the government. We only hope that the government will reinvest a fair share of the funds into maintenance of the national parks and betterment of the dedicated team of officials, to encourage and motivate them to do even better, thereby benefiting us more and more.

Many NGO’s formed by tiger enthusiast and concerned citizens from both, India and abroad continuously campaign for our cause.

“Dear humans, your world will be far less beautiful without tigers in it. Tigers are the national assets of our country. Therefore, it is the moral duty of the government and the people to protect us and save us for the future generations”.

• Deploy para-military forces at Tiger Reserves to fight poachers • Stop Deforestation – Encourage Afforestation…’Plant more trees’ Human beings must take inspiration from some great ‘Tigerwallahs’, my saviors of yesteryears. There are few men of such mettle even today, but why not many more? When more and more people join hands and unite as a force to save us, India will be a richer nation, proud of her natural assets and happy to have passed down the natural wealth to the next generation, who can then take care of this treasure and pass it on to the next and that is how it should be handed down, generation to generation.

Like the great hunter turned conservationist of yesteryears, Colonel Jim Corbett said, “Tiger is a large-hearted gentleman”!! Therefore, phrases such as “as blood thirsty as a tiger” and “as cunning as a tiger” are so untrue. It pains us, for if tiger’s were indeed blood thirsty, we would have killed so many human beings without any reason, whereas the fact is that we do not even kill animals in the excess of our need…killing our prey only for food and not for sport, as humans do with us. If we were cunning, we would have escaped the gory death we keep dying every day.

Common citizens are busy fighting their life’s battles for food, work, clothing, education, housing, and other critical issues. On the other hand, successive governments are lost in their power struggle, for their own survival. How can we then expect both of them to focus on our concerns? For both the parties that matter to us, our sorry plight is just another issue at the bottom of their priority list. While we understand that our problems can never supersede that of man’s, we need some amount of your time. If only you make time for us, can you actually focus on our cause.

Finally, I appeal to the human race to give me a new leash of life, for which I will always remain grateful. I wish to assure you that my survival and increase in population will never be a threat to mankind. Therefore, have no ill feelings. It is you and only you who can arrest our doom and pull us out of our current misery. We ask no more than your kindness and importantly a place in your hearts. Tigers can and will live harmoniously and co-exist with humans.

We, the tigers, sincerely hope and pray that this appeal will be a new beginning for us and put an end to our otherwise fast approaching end…

I propose a five point simple, yet effective agenda to strengthen your efforts to save us.

• Stricter laws and stringent punishment to those who harm us in anyway • Remove human settlements from within the core area of Tiger Reserves • Rehabilitate resettled people, so that their dependence on jungles reduce

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Mom’s the Word Sujata Sengupta (3rd Prize winner)

around this routine. She must have missed movies, she must have had to forgo reading the latest bestseller, and she would not have had time for beauty sessions and dress trials.

The things that we take for granted had stopped for her. But she had the joy of being useful to her son, of being able to help create a future for him. To start him off on a path that would eventually make him self-reliant in her absence. I think she saw that as a better trade-off.

“A happy and expressive child becomes visibly confused and uncomfortable, while therapists curiously look on and continue prodding him,” she wrote in her diary, during the early years of therapy. I can only imagine the frustration and stress of wanting to help her child while protecting him and letting him be a kid. She continuously felt torn between listening to her maternal instincts of wanting a happy, relaxed childhood for her son and listening to the professionals who advocate stringent treatments. She must have felt helpless not knowing what her son needs and wants; never truly knowing what he is thinking. While he made great progress some days, other days, it would have felt like taking several steps back. The school was always encouraging, she said, the therapists rarely so.

At the age of 35, how many of you would like to start school all over again from kindergarten? Not many, I presume. There is so much to do at that age. There is a husband and a house to take care of, parties, night-outs, romantic holidays, shopping and of course the self-defining career. To start school again is not something that would feature on the list of priorities of a modern 35 year old woman.

But I know a lady who did this. As a mother of a five year old son, diagnosed with autism, she decided to join school again. No school was willing to admit the boy. “There are schools for children with special needs, please take him there,” they said. The special schools were quite a dampener. They did nothing more than babysit the child. This was unacceptable to the mother, who was neither in denial of her situation, nor willing to give up on her son. One reputed school following the international curriculum accepted the kid on the condition that the mother was willing to take all the classes with him. And so she did. Giving up on her career, her personal joys, her ‘me-time’ she started school again with her son.

Autism is viewed as a tragedy. As a disorder that robs children of their lives and parents of their children. It took a lot of courage and tenacity for her to grapple with her son’s development, autistic diagnosis and finding the right help. School in the morning, followed by some recreational activity and then therapy in the evening, life revolved

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When the focus of a woman shifts from the husband to the child, it takes effort from the husband to keep the marriage alive. In this case, the focus was centred on the little boy, everything else seemed hazy. The relationship between the couple suffered and grew distant. A lot of things had to be forgone, like moving to a new city for a better job, social interactions were not easy, couple-time was less as the mind was occupied and the body, tired. The result was a woman who did not want to see this gap and a man who delved deeper into his work. As parents, however, they continued to be the band on which the little boy could always hop and play.

She was jealous of the little worries that the other mothers at school had. She, at times, resented other mothers who eased through decisions for their children and worried over whether the birthday gifts would be liked by the child, or whether it’s time to move out of the crib and into a big-boy bed. She did not have the luxury of such indulgences.

When she was done with the day’s study with her son, she worried about supplements and approaches to try and encourage him to eat food. She lay in bed and wondered how her son would ever be okay in the world, how she could help him love who he is and have his needs met. She could never be easy. She could never be still. Always, she was running, moving, searching, finding. Always, she was fighting against the unbearable default of failing her son.

Years passed, some were filled with angst, but mostly they were years of learning and being happy in small joys. Last year she graduated with her son from school. As they shared the stage with their degrees, a woman of 53 and a boy of 23, the entire crowd

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erupted in applause, and why not! This was a journey that tells the story of an exuberant boy, who loves art, reads music, sings “Bohemian Rhapsody” in its entirety, makes videos on his computer, hugs and cuddles his parents, and is much more than his diagnosis; and it is also the story of a mother who believed that she could help her son.

A Selfie World Criselda Monice Razo

“There is no tragedy if you don’t choose to see one..”, she says, and I believe.

Ingenuity is the strategic placement of camera lenses facefront in a mobile device or a laptop. A simple alteration in location eliminated the need for an extra pair of hands to take a photograph. Much like a mirror, it allows the subject to see if her facial angles flattered enough or if the degree of the crook in his smile was precise for his satisfaction, front cameras have revolutionized the way we captured our most cherished moments.

Before my breakfast toast or even a toothbrush, the first thing I would reach for every morning is my phone and the social networks embedded in the applications roll. Usually the earliest posts I would see on Facebook or Instagram are self portraits posted in the wee hours of the morning. And no, I dont mean those structured studio shots with lighting and reflectors positioned from a scholarly technique. They are portraits taken by friends who just got out of bed in all their disheveled hair, slumber lines across their face and crusty morning glory adorning the corners of their eyes as if saying “I just woke up, feast your eyes on my early morning face and drop in a like!”

Remember those days when it was so hard to get a decent picture without somebody else taking the shot in our behalf? Problem solved. To our benefit, we need not waste a roll of Kodak film because the shot was 99% thumb and 1% hairline. I find this very helpful when I travel and would like to brag about my whereabouts, say, a beach or a popular tourist attraction. In our spare time, we could take pictures of our bored self and tinker with the

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shot to magically make all the flaws disapparate. My friends and I become the prettiest girls especially when we have nothing to do. Did you ever notice how Facebook is a place where everyone is their best digital self, where zits are practically nonexistent? Even my mirror sometimes shock me when I look at myself in real time.

Selfies also underwent evolution. The first selfies were taken without a care about angles in particular. My mother never got past this stage. She takes selfies unaware that she can capture her mirror image. Her selfies always end up with a frown and a look of confusion as if she couldnt find the keyboard. A quick orientation from her daughters taught her that a smile would not blow up the camera. Very little people knew back then that it was better to position the camera at a certain height and a slight tilt in order to get to make the face look smaller. Close to a decade ago, people gave the most basic toothy smile. These days its only a matter of time before a book on taking selfies would sit on the shelves of ebookstores . Lo and behold, the different faces of the “selfie” were born. There is this selfie that wasnt really there, a “stolen”selfie shot whereby the subject averts his stare at the lens just like in a candid shot, a side selfie if the most flattering angle is a side profile, mirror selfie, out of bed selfie (and subsquently a bedtime selfie), “when boredom strikes” selfie, fashion selfie (usually taken in fitting rooms or infront of bedroom dressers) and my personal favorite, the duck face selfie where one puckers up the lips to make it resemble like a duck’s beak (trust me, it is supposed to make one look attractive).

Celebrities are heavy users of social platforms including instagram selfies in order to reach out to their fans. There must be an enormous sense of pride when these selfies generate hundreds and thousands of likes from internet followers. The selfies even gave the paparazzi a run for their own money. Fans get the photos straight from their favorite celebrity’s iPhone while riding the bus to work. When the Pope took an unprecedent step of posing for a selfie with a group of teenagers, the internet went into a frenzy and the charming church leader became pop culture next to Andy Warhol and the Beatles.

Subsequently, ordinary people can become celebrities too! Buying a new dress? Take a selfie inside a store and ask for everybody’s opinion. Earning hundreds of dollars through your new business? Take a photo of yourself fanning paper bills and bank cheques.

Maybe, you can encourage other people to invest in you because your selfie gave away your position as young, rich and restless to the entire world. I even came across people on facebook posting sad-faced selfies while urging their friends to help out in the relief efforts for typhoon and earthquake victims. Perhaps it was an honest to goodness mobilization of social media to involve people in a noble cause, but seriously, was the pain-stricken selfie really necessary to make people care?

in our outward appearance because we have full control of the beauty angles we must take advantage of. Though from another vantage point, I am not certain if this digital phenomenon also brings out the best from within us. A few months ago, I was rummaging the TV and chanced upon a BBC news program just in time for “selfie” to be selected by Oxford Dictionary as its world of the year 2013. While some people may not fully agree, the team at Ofxord chose well. To the credit of the selection panel, the word did live up to the global hype. Three years ago, it was merely an obscure internet slang people used until it became a bona fide word once everybody started taking one and talking about it. It is unmistakable that selfie is the word to beat.

But, shall we allow this to be the word which would best describe our year and inevitably our generation? I am not too keen on the thought. To say that we now live in a “selfie” world is such a sad, sad fact of life. The thought of a generation who would soon become more concerned about themselves than others should be enough to make us tremble. If young people grow up holding their vanity above others, the world would be a terrifying place to raise children. Netizens are more keen on following Kim Kardashian while she takes photos of her most prized rear end on instagram rather than strive to follow the footsteps of the late Nelson Mandela because he fought for equality and human rights. Isn’t it sad that people know more about what Justin Bieber ate last week at some upscale New York restaurant than the situation in Syria where children refugees are not only displaced due to internal strife but also missing out on basic needs like food and education? There is simply nothing wrong with posting a picture, whether duck face or not. But to allow this to define our generation’s worth and declare this our unofficial “legacy” is a farce. Given the power of the internet and social media, why not put it into good use instead?

Our true and innate nature would reveal that people constantly seek the approval of others. I found myself asking if people would rather share their faces to the world instead of their time, effort, knowledge or talent. I am sure that selfies bring out the best

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Going Beyond Self Katharine Abraham

gentleman took time to give us clear directions supported with a clear sketch. He spared a few useful minutes that did not matter much for him but proved valuable for us.

Every day we get plenty of opportunities to ‘go the extra mile’ if we care to. We just need to keep our eyes and hearts open to help that may not cost us much but makes a difference to those who seek our help. Sadly however, we often remain indifferent to the needs of others or even sneer at them.

Instead, if we cultivate the habit of ‘going that extra mile’ and make it the norm rather than the exception, the very quality of life will be transformed. That is what men and women of substance and compassion did to bring solace to millions of less privileged ones in society. They were prepared to go beyond their self-centred and insatiable desire to fulfill their wants. They let go their time, energy and even wealth for a life time of dedicated humanitarian service.

The world produces from time to time outstanding men and women /personalities who reveal humility and selflessness of the highest order. They have sacrificed their personal wealth, well being and comforts to bring solace and new light into millions of less fortunate fellow human beings and serve as beacon lights of hope and inspiration to succeeding generations. Let us look at a handful of illustrative examples.

The setting was the chemotherapy section of the Oncology Department of a leading hospital in the city. There were a number of patients waiting for their turn along with their escorts. A teenage girl and her parents seemed more depressed than many others there. After watching them intently for a while, a middle aged lady moved up to them and engaged in a short conversation. She uttered few touching and sincere words of concern and empathy. The teenager’s face lit up with a faint smile and so did that of the distraught parents. That lady, herself passing through a traumatic time in life, had the courage and capacity to look beyond her own misery, pain and gloom and bring some consolation to more disconsolate fellow sufferer. She happened to be my cousin and I had accompanied her for her third session of chemotherapy. Her response filled me with awe and amazement.

Yes, this is the quality of rising above one’s self. The readiness to put aside our own big and petty miseries and niggles in order to empathize with the troubles and miseries of others around you.

Gandhi was a moral and spiritual colossus of the 20th century who gave up his profession as a barrister after his law studies in England. He gave up the trappings of the sophisticated Western attire to don the simple clothes made of hand spun cotton to lead an entire nation to freedom from the yoke of centuries of colonial oppression. What made him unique was the novel form of non violent non-cooperation he employed as the weapon. With his aristocratic family background and education abroad he could have led an affluent and comfortable life. But he dared to look beyond his self and identified with the poor and oppressed masses. His service was not confined to national liberation.

He identified himself with the socially segregated downtrodden sections of the masses and worked indefatigably for their uplift. He also strove all his life for the human brotherhood, amity and communal harmony and laid down his life for these ideals. Thus he set standards of humanitarian principles difficult to emulate. He is perennial source of inspiration as leaders in succeeding /subsequent generations have acknowledged.

Let us look at a simple everyday day example — not of a great sacrifice but a definite will to go the extra mile. Recently while on a short visit to Dubai by road a friend and I lost our way to the hotel we had booked. After going in circles we stopped at a few places to seek directions. One or two had no clue. Yet others gave us tips that confused us more. But one

Yet another international humanitarian of the 20th century who chose a life of renunciation as a nun and began as a teacher but far beyond her calling was Mother Teresa. Her spirit of sacrifice and devotion to the poorest or the poor, downtrodden and unwanted orphans, widows. Lepers and other destitutes were incredible. She and her co workers brought new hope and light into the life of millions in the slums of Kolkata, India and in several parts of the world therafter. She was prepared to face insults and

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humiliation to carry on her noble mission as can be seen in a well documented anecdote from her life. Once she approached a wealthy business man in the city for monetary support to feed and care for the destitute in her home of shelter. In an arrogant and humiliating gesture the man spat on the mother’s outstretched palm. The Mother calmly wiped the palm on her cotton sari and then stretched out the same palm in supplication to the man and said: ‘Sir you just gave me what you wished to give me. Now I request you to me what you can for my destitute.’ These words of absolute forgiveness and compassion shook the man completely and the story goes that the man broke down in tears of apology and become a life-long supporter of her charitable mission. No wonder she came to be acclaimed as the ‘Saint of the Gutters’.

Yet another iconic leader who showed the selfless spirit left us only a few weeks ago is Nelson Mandela. Born as the son of a tribal chief in the apartheid era in South Africa he may have had a comfortable life. But he chose to identify himself with the blacks who were suppressed and discriminated against in their own land by the white minority race.

As US President Barack Obama mentioned in his obituary note ‘Mandela was one of the most influential, courageous and profound human beings who sacrificed his own freedom for the freedom of others.’ In the arduous struggle to liberate his fellow men, Mandela served out 27 years of the best part of his life in prison, first on the forlorn Robben Island and later in Pollsmoor Prison and Victor Verster Prison.

But when finally he was released, and went on to become the first black and democratically elected President, he espoused the noblest spirit of forgiveness and reconciliation. That helped to heal the racial divide and paved the way for a peaceful coexistence of the whites, blacks and others.

Unlike ordinary leaders who cling on to power as long as they can, Mandela voluntarily stepped down after just one term as President. He continued to extend his moral authority and guidance serving the cause of humanity everywhere.

The three examples quoted are outstanding inspirational figures. Ordinary folks may not be able to rise to dizzy heights of selfless service rendered by them But we can definitely draw inspiration from them and come up with small acts of selflessness and goodness that can bring cheer and sunshine to at least a few around us.

ill cancer patient on his weekly trip to the hospital in ambulance. When the driver of the ambulance suffered a sudden heart attack, he forgot all his personal weakness and got behind the wheel and managed to get the driver to the hospital just in time to save his life. He managed to do it as he forgot all his disabilities to gain the mental and physical strength to save a life.

On a familial and sentimental plane, we can observe mothers revealing this quality in their bond with their children. This begins even before the new born arrives and makes heavy demands on her time and attention. Yet, she has no second thoughts about going the extra mile to keep her baby safe and cozy. She nurses and nurtures her kid through every phase of its growth with loving care. Her comfort and convenience takes a backseat. This kind of unflagging devotion and care continues even when the baby grows into a teenager and beyond.

Napoleon Hill, the American motivational thinker and writer analyzed in depth the lives of successful men like Henry Ford, Thomas Alva Edison and Andrew Carnegie and concluded that their achievements were the result of certain positive patterns of behaviour. Of these, their willingness to ‘Go the Extra Mile’ was probably the most important ingredient of their success.

For instance Hill points out that the American industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie had the ability to identify and nurture several successful leaders of industry.

The first test he applied was by determining to what extent the employee was willing to go the extra mile. Initially, he applied this principle as a matter of sound business practice.

But later on, it became for him a philosophy of ethics and an act of empathy towards the weak and the unfortunate.

Going the extra mile can also take the form of ‘going beyond the call of duty’. We know how members of the defence forces, police officers and fire fighters go beyond the call of duty and constantly risk their lives to save other lives. I recall reading about the band members on the sinking Titanic who stayed on to play spiritually calming tunes to the passengers waiting anxiously to be rescued on to the limited number of life boats. They had the courage to walk that extra mile even at that moment of peril and tragedy.

Another weird but true story reported in the media a few months ago is that of a terminally

Being self-centered and successful we will be considered smart but the joy of being so pales in comparison with the joy and satisfaction you derive when you try to be a little less selfish and see the face of someone you helped out light up with joy and gratitude. But we need to get started and do it to experience the thrill. The goodwill that we generate with each such act is tremendous and more valuable than any kind of material rewards.

Looking around us at the present or reflecting on the days gone by objectively reveal that more often than not we have been the fortunate recipients of the unfailing support and

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In this context we can view the extraordinary act of courage and selflessness that a poor black woman with all her personal and family problems to worry about, performed one day on her way back home in a bus. She defied the existing law by refusing to give up the seat she was occupying when a white person came in. That was Rosa Parks.

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caring touch of our parents, teachers and dear ones and well wishers and even strangers who were prepared to think beyond the self and walk the extra mile for us. In contrast our own efforts to help others have fallen far short.

Homecoming Russel Yusuf Ogston

This humbling thought should spur us on to become a little more tender and caring towards those who genuinely seek and deserve our support. It is not the magnitude of the act but the intentions to extend a helping hand that really matters. In the words of Jessy and Bryan Matteo, ‘Even the smallest act of caring for another person is like a drop of water that will make ripples throughout the entire pond.’ Let us believe that we can all make a difference. The cumulative effect of such tiny acts of kindness and selfless service will bring about a mighty change and make our world a much more livable and lovable place for all human kind.

As I stand in the central court-yard of Sultan Qaboos Mosque in Salalah, I close my eyes and allow the Adhan to seep into my heart; as I hold my son in my arms it feels like a homecoming. Five years earlier I was a priest in London, offering what comfort I could to the sick, dying and broken lives of many in the east end. For twelve years I had served the church with a mixture of passion and ambivalence. I touched many a saint and sinner, and yet I myself had been changed, slowly, almost without notice. Sitting silently by the bed of a dying man, cradling a sick child, reciting the prayers of the dead, drinking endless cups of tea whilst searching for words of meaning, this was my life and it was both a blessing and a curse.

A journey of inner discovery and self reflection had slowly awakened in me and I no longer felt at ease in my own skin, my own heart, my own priestly identity. Something unknown to me was stirring, and so began the journey of a thousand steps that Lao Tze and many others in search of wisdom, had embarked upon. The journey into one’s own heart is perhaps the greatest and humblest of all our tasks, but with fear and uncertainty I took that first step. I now came clean about my own self-doubt and loss of faith, and faced the possibility of a new path, a new emerging life that would take me to new lands, new people, new possibilities.

And so I now stand holding my son, and let the Adhan resonate around the walls of the mosque, my feet feeling the stone that bears a million prayers. We gather, lines of obedience

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bowing in surrender, to the timeless mystery of a compassionate God. We then leave, walking out into the fading light of dusk, and I am met by my wife and am reminded of so much I have gained; the blessing and barakah that comes with sacrifice, of daring to enter into a new reality. My Britishness forever forged in the ancient wisdom of the Nile, as my Egyptian wife and I dared to dream of a life together.

emotional support; it was to be a vital bridge for me as I struggled with this new and difficult transition. After a year I then had the courage to train as an English teacher, and to my surprise I qualified with a distinction.

Bearing the marks of compassion fatigue and spiritual crisis, I broke free from the confines of church. What was once life-giving had become my cage, and so I stood at the abyss of not knowing, and jumped off. I did not fall. I embraced the unknown future and felt like a foreigner in my own country. Navigating my way through the wonder and mystery of Arabic, standing alongside Muslims of various lands seeking solace in Salah, of suddenly identifying myself with ‘the other’ and feeling at home. I grieved all I had lost, status, financial security, friends unable to accept such a shocking departure, as I turned my back on my beloved church. The truth was, it broke my heart, and yet I knew my home was somewhere else and I had to go in search of it.

Starting a new career at the age of forty is never easy, as many will testify, and so it proved.

And yet, with excitement and trepidation my wife and I, together with our blessed newborn son Tariq, set off for Egypt and new adventures, new joys and challenges. The teeming mass of humanity that is Cairo is both intoxicating and draining; every day is akin to starring in your very own soap opera. The drama that is Cairo pulls you in and you dive into a city that pulsates with history, of profound frustrations, of a zest for life and humour that is a joy to behold. It feels like a city on the brink of collapse, and yet somehow, it survives to tell yet more tales of hardship, of optimism in spite of overwhelming odds. My wife had not returned to Egypt for ten long years, so the homecoming was both emotional and shocking; the decade had worn Cairo down and it was a city no longer at ease with itself; post Mubarak Egypt was one of uncertainty.

I travelled back to a land I loved, India. I stayed in a Buddhist monastery, lived with a Hindu family, visited the tombs of holy men and women, and I experienced something that I had forgotten; I was alone with myself. From India I went to Morocco, and arrived in the city of saints, Fez. The ancient lanes of the medina seemed to hold me, and I discovered Arab hospitality that beckoned me in. Over countless cups of mint tea friendships were formed and I glimpsed a new way of life, where possessions and status made way for family, prayer and the eternal heartbeat that was the Quran; forever present and soothing, it touched the deepest recesses of my heart. And so, within the ancient walls of Al - Qarawiyyin, I changed the entire direction of my life; I uttered the words spoken by so many throughout the centuries: La’ ilaha ’illa-llah, Muhammadun Rasulu-llah.

I found myself in a deeply religious environment, with the ever constant sound of the Quran echoing through homes, offices, fruit stalls and taxi-cabs. The Adhan would ring out from minarets and crackling radios; a perennial call in the midst of chaos. I taught in an International Islamic school, which was both a joy and a trial. I came to learn and appreciate the fundamentally Arab heart, which is open, playful and tender, but I had to let go of my western-centric mind programmed to expect order, distance and constant logic. After a year of life in Cairo, we departed for the summer, expecting to return again in September, but unforeseen events were to take over and leave my family in a state of indecision. The removal of President Morsi and the dramatic events at Rabaa al-Adawiya, which was a stone’s throw from our apartment, led us to reconsider returning.

I could not imagine how difficult my life would become on my return to London. Letting go of all I had known and cherished was a grief hard to talk about, and I was entering a new faith, a new landscape that was both familiar and foreign. Like so many converts to a new faith, I encountered misunderstanding as I tentatively tried to feel at home, desperately wanting to fit in. Impossible given my blonde hair and blue eyes! I was warmly embraced, stared at, viewed with mistrust, held up as some kind of trophy, and yet I doggedly held on to this beautiful faith which was as sweet as the bukhoor I now burn in my Dhofari home.

And so it was to be, ordained by Allah, that I filled in an application form for Oman; a country I had lived in as a young boy thirty-six years earlier. And four weeks later I was on a plane bound for Salalah. This land infused with incense and shaped by mountains and desert is now our home. From Mughsayl in the south to Musandam in the north, Oman has welcomed us with its breathtaking landscape and generous people. Standing here in the elegance and grandeur of Sultan Qaboos Mosque in Salalah, I am suddenly aware of one journey coming to an end, and a new one beckoning me onwards. My son caresses my face as the Adhan fades into memory and we walk barefoot, the plush carpet of the prayer hall making way for stone, as we leave, and Tariq runs joyfully towards his mother.

No longer a priest, I was cut off from the familiar and had no job or financial means to keep my flat, and so I was at the mercy of friends and strangers. A loyal friend and fellow minister offered me a room for a few months; a Christian offering their home to a new Muslim; true friendship and authentic faith in action. I was now someone I had never been before, one of the many unemployed and looking for work. After six months of waiting and wandering, I got a job working for a charity supporting newly bereaved people, offering practical and

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He is home, I am home, we are home.

December 2013 Salalah, Oman.

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Impact of Disney Princesses on People’s Lives Ashima Prakash

true love. In the end her prince comes to save her from her beauty sleep and takes her to his palace to live happily ever after.

The problem is what is in between? Aurora is described as a young and beautiful woman and shown with a perfect body. So even if the children are not told they tend to assume that this is how we are also supposed to look. But the truth is that the body structure that is shown is impossible to be achieved by humans on any account. In fact, all of the Disney princesses are displayed with a disproportionate body structure.

Disney fairytales have also changed the true meaning and standards of beauty for children.

It demonstrates that beauty is all about beautiful dresses and gowns, fancy shoes, perfect hair, make-up, etc. and nothing deeper than that. In short, it is the superficial beauty that matters and not the inner.

These movies not only have an impact on girls but also on the boys who have watched them. Most of the young boys who watch Disney fairytales would always want to find girls who are like Jasmine, Cinderella, Arial or any other supposedly beautiful and pretty princesses of the Disney world. It also portrays that men in Disney movies are allowed to be aggressive. It teaches them that in order to succeed one must be strong, but silent and introverted.

“Why, it’s like a dream. A wonderful dream come true.” These were the words said

by Cinderella when the fairy godmother appeared and transformed Cinderella into a beautiful princess with a coach to take her to the palace. But the question is do these dreams last forever?

Every Disney fairytale has a protagonist who is the princess. At first her life is shown as a happy go lucky one with no difficulties at all. Then an evil soul comes to fill her life with miseries and sadness. In the end she is saved by her prince charming and he takes her away to his palace to get married and live happily ever after. But what happens after the happily ever after?

Almost every girl in the world aged between 5 and 12 is attracted towards Disney fairytales. Most girls identify themselves as the characters and try to adopt the ways of their being. Most of the Disney fairytales show that to be successful in your endeavors one must be subtle, complacent and weak like to attract the attention of others. They also show that one day or the other a prince charming will come to take them away and they will live their life in a huge palace forever. For example in the movie Sleeping Beauty, Aurora, the perfect woman is depicted as extremely demure. She is cursed by the evil witch Maleficent to die when she pricks her finger on the spindle. However, the good witches change the curse to a long slumber of a hundred years till she receives the kiss of

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What children learn at a young age, subconsciously carries on to the stage of adulthood.

As girls long for acceptance and yearn to feel beautiful, they never expect their lovely Disney princesses to propose low self-esteem and behavioral problems to them as adults.

As children, girls have a misunderstanding of what it is to be in love and grow up to have relationship problems in their life. They learn to assume that relationships are all about love at first sight. Later when they grow up they have problems in solving the issues that come before and after marriage as they have never even thought about those. The movies only exaggerate the prince’s and princess’s marriage and then no one knows what happens after the ‘happily ever after’.

By identifying Disney princess films as fictitious stories meant for entertainment rather than believing in them as actual people, children can grow and learn values in a healthier environment and take their older sisters, mothers, aunts, uncles, or even some great people who have done great deeds for the nation as their role models. Women can avoid falling into problems such as bad attitude, behavioral issues, bad sense of identity, low self-esteem, being loved only by physical attention etc. which Disney films usually propose. It is important that children are taught to see Disney princesses as just another form of entertainment and not a permanent lifestyle for them to follow.

Though Disney princesses propose a negative effect on children and women, it also has

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some positives to it. As we know, most of the Disney movies start off with the protagonist being ill-treated and of having no value at all in the society. For example, Tiana from the Princes and the Frog is looked down upon and her abilities are overlooked. She is denied the building that she always wanted to start her restaurant just because she is Afro-American and comes from a poor background. The society completely ignores her.

Similarly, Mulan was told that she wasn’t worthy of a husband. Cinderella was ill-treated by her step-mother and step-sisters and was as respected as a housemaid in her own house. Society gets a lot of things wrong and kids can be taught to overcome these and stand up to their dreams and achieve their goals. Just like Tiana gets her restaurant in the end and also gets a happy and romantic life to live, children must also learn that they must not get disheartened by the society and work hard to achieve their goals.

not real ways of life. They should be taught to understand the difference between a real life and the dream life that is shown on screen. In this way children and women can be spared from the negative effects of these movies and enjoy the fantasy for as long as it lasts on the screen. As even the fairy godmother told Cinderella that like all dreams come to an end, this one must too”.

A common theme displayed in the Disney movies is that the protagonists tend to have some sort of power in them that helps them reach their goal. This is very evident in the movie Pocahontas. At one point Pocahontas fells absolutely powerless and of no use, but in the end she realized that there was a special power inside her and it was this belief that helped her stop a whole lot of war and bloodshed. It takes a little effort to realize and find it, but there is a special gift inside every child, a gift of the power that they shall use to help themselves and others all throughout their lives.

In life, what matters is who you are on the inside and not the image that you portray to people around the world. This lesson is prominent in Beauty And The Beast, where a beautiful girl named Belle falls in love with a hideous and ugly creature who is referred to as Beast. Beast was once a very handsome prince but his selfishness caused an enchantress to transform him into an ugly creature. The enchantress gave him a rose and if Beast could find his true love before its last petal fell, he would turn back into his human self. It was this hope that made Beast keep Belle as his prisoner and let her father go. At first he is way beyond mean, keeping Belle without food for the first night. But as the movie carries on Beast transforms from the inside of his heart although he was still a beast from the outside. Belle sees this change in him and starts loving him. In the end it is Beast’s kindness and lovingness that makes Belle fall in love with him and they live happily together as humans. So we see that it was Beast’s inner beauty that made Belle fall for him and not his looks. Similarly, Aladdin may have been a poor street rat, but he was still amazing and which is why Jasmine fell in love with him. The Queen of Snow White may have been the second fairest in the land but she was cruel and evil which eventually led to her destruction.

So Disney princesses and movies do have a mixed impact on children. They should be shown to kids in moderation, say about once a week. Parents can take up the initiative to discuss the content with their kids and tell them what good they can learn out of these.

Children should also learn to accept that Disney princesses are fictional characters and

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My Father is Abdullah Meet an Omani Father Rahma Abdullah Rashid Al Aamri

car and turn on its AC until we did. Either that or he would get us counting other cars on the road — a silly game which my brother and I loved and passed on to our younger siblings.

Are all military men impatient? Well, Abdullah is and always in a hurry, too. Being in time with him is a way of life. If you’re out walking and dawdling along behind him, you’d better shake a leg and get moving, or else be left far behind. I suppose he thinks he’s dealing with soldiers when he disciplines us, constantly barking out orders — bellowing that we must show independence, efficiency, hardwork, persistence and respect for time if we want success in life. In reply, we keep reminding him that he’s at home and not with his regiment on barracks square! I remember once that we drove together to Muscat, where we both work, and got stuck in a ghastly traffic jam — mile after mile of bumper to bumper traffic. He simply couldn’t stop grouching, moaning and complaining. It got so bad that at one point he asked me to take the wheel, so he could set off walkinga long the road! I sat searching my mind and memory for a clever way to turn his mind in other directions but came up with nothing. I don’t relish the two-hour drive home from Muscat to Ibra (it’s a dangerous snaky road that twists through mountains), so I always ask to carpool with him. Yet, he rarely agrees, thinking that I’m merely depending on him or being lazy. I must show I can stand on my own two feet, and traveling alone is one way of doing this.

Let me introduce you to Abdullah (the name means God’s servant). He is a hot-tempered military man but easily cools down as soon as you confront him. You have to be firm about this and insist that you won’t utter a word more until he’s calm again.“I can’t hear you when you shout, sir!” is what I always retort.

He happens to be my father by the way. Although possessed of a loud voice and a bad temper, he has a great sense of humor and no respect for laziness. For instance, when the electricity goes off at home, we play tricks on him to kill time. His response then is to crack jokes and tell white lies though my siblings and I disapprove of them. In a good mood, he even likes to sing for us and we all enjoy joining him.My mother constantly reminds us that we were all born with a silver spoon in our mouth and should thank God for giving us such a loving father.

Do the military men demonstrate content and satisfaction? Well, Abdullah taught us that satisfaction brings content. As children, we were always warned never to whine and fuss about food. “It’s all good, as long as you can eat it,” he would say, “so let me hear no more moaning.” Ironically, he didn’t much enjoy the taste of food himself, despite eating huge amount of it. He was keen though that I should grow up to appreciate my meals. When I was a baby, he used to prepare and feed me Nido milk, which turned me into a chubby girl with a healthy appetite. Mom would often hide the stuff, telling him it was finished. But, he wouldn’t take no for an answer.

When he comes home at the weekends, he always helps my mother, Saada (happiness), with the housework, doing the laundry and hanging out the clothes, washing dishes and watering the garden — thus showing us that there’s not the slightest shame in all of this.

Any good military man, he insists, should be proud to do it. When I was a child, our village had no electricity, so dad bought a generator to power an air conditioner, especially during our boiling hot summers. We children could then play Maryo games in the afternoons, and when we felt really hot and couldn’t sleep, he and my mom would drive us out in the

Abdullah has always valued communication and discussion with his children. Indeed, he openly accepts criticism from us, saying, “If I was wrong, just tell me ‘Dad you were wrong!’” However, I always tried to choose gentler and more respectful ways of correcting him. Stories from his work, childhood or times with his brothers, friends and older neighbors are still always a joy, especially the funny ones. Some I’ve heard at least dozen times, and my brothers and sisters used to have ways to signal a story was being repeated by, for example, whistling a prolonged siren “weeeeeweeeee” sound. When this happens, though, it still makes no difference. He carries on anyway, while mom starts giggling. Like other military men no doubt, Abdullah doesn’t know how to communicate silently. He uses silence only to show disappointment that you have let him down. He expresses anger, however, in so loud a voice that you have to plug your ears with cotton wool or tissue paper!

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I’ve tried hard to imitate Abdullah’s values and outlook on life. Indeed, I’ve even been told that I walk like a military man and should walk like a girl instead! Some friends and family call me “difsha,” which means clumsy or tomboy, a taunt, however, that never bothered me. As for my father, the words he has always used to describe me are these: “Sugary with a very sweet tongue… smart, lazy (YaKasoulah), a tough woman, and determined.” And he’s always been confident that I know my way around and how to get people onto my side when I want to, making sure everyone knows this.

Can military men sometimes be a bit eccentric? Well, DA (Dad Abdullah) certainly is, for he’s got some distinctly odd habits. For example, he’d come to my room in the early morning, if I had housework to do or errands to run that day, and, though I was dead to the world, he’d talk to me as if I was awake and all ears! I’d feel really bothered and ask him to get out of my hair - or else I’d sometimes remain silent, so he’d know I was mad at him. But, he didn’t care a dime! No! ...No! He’d just keep talking and complaining about my laziness and ignoring him. Now, though, how I cherish and miss those early morning scenarios!

My relationship with Abdullah has never been other than invaluable and his presence precious. He doesn’t like me to cry because, he says,“it’s a sign of weakness. I must instead be strong at all times.” But, I suspect he doesn’t like it because it makes him feel weak and powerless. I’ve seen him cry though — just once — and will never forget it. I was leaving for the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca and was already on the bus when my mom knocked on the window and asked me to look at my dad. He was sobbing, and his eyes were red and streaming with tears. I knew that I mustn’t cry as well because he wouldn’t like it. Thus, I just smiled and said, “Keep some of that goat and barbecue meat for me for when I come back.” It was ten days before Eid, our Islamic holiday, when families and friends gather to celebrate and praise God, eating big meat meals for three days. Promising that he’d keep some in the freezer, he then told me to ensure I took my mobile, so they could call to check on me. Instead, I simply raised my copy of the Qur’an to show him and smiled at him. My eyes were telling him this: “Don’t worry. I am strong; I have this book, and My Father is Abdullah.” In reply, he gave me a confident thumbs-up sign and walked quickly away to his car. That event is so deeply ingrained in my memory that it keeps rising to revisit me.

While always going out of his way to be friendly and approachable, Abdullah also likes some time to himself, watching Al-Jazeera news channel or playing cards with his friends. Although he has always encouraged me to pursue my studies, I wouldn’t say he’s ambitious when it comes to pursuing higher education for himself because, he thinks, it would destroy his flexible leisure schedules. He completed his Diploma in Nursing in 1983, two years before I was born, and though he no longer practices it, my mom’s always happy to tell us stories about his excellent nursing skills.

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My father cares for outcomes more than processes and withholds approval of your behaviour and plans until he sees the results. Hence, you must stand your ground, provide evidence, and show him what you’ve achieved. He won’t exactly block your planning, but he won’t support you either, unless you can prove that you can stand on your own feet despite the frustrations around you. Make sure you don’t ever make a bad blunder in front of him; otherwise, he’ll make you feel like a worm!

Though very impatient, dad does, however, hate conflicts. He is always anxious to forgive, and he does not like to make matters worse for everyone. Indeed, he is famous in the village as an excellent peace-maker and a good trouble-shooter. I remember that once our neighbor’s son, who was 20, twisted my 10-year old brother’s arm. My oldest brother considered this as an abuse and wanted to sue him. On the other hand, my father simply kept clear of the issue, saying the boy was a college student and would be fired if the police were informed.

I give it to my father that I keep on my toes and think before I act.When I was a child, my father always showed me that he trusted me and that I deserved his trust. He felt it keenly when I was hurt or treated unfairly. And when I faced problems at school, he would come and say,” I used to have a tough life — and sometimes had to eat only lentil soup for months on end — but I made it through.” Then, in a captivating whisper, he would add: “Problems are good for us. They challenge our strengths and preconceived notions about the world around us.” And in tough times, I must confess, this thought has always kept me going.

About to sink or swim, I know I have to swim!

But there are really so many things I could write about his lively personality... more than my pen and memory could manage. In short, he’s been the kind of good friend and guide that any daughter would need and love to have. He has my total respect as a remarkable father and role model — someone from whom I have learned a great deal, even, as another example, that I should demand my rights when necessary, persevere, and always look for whatever will offer meaning to my life. I remain in an awe of his intellect, military achievements, guidance and friendly personality. May Allah bless him since he has never made me feel needful of anything but his love, trust, and respect. Though he’s so far away from me here in America, I sorely miss this Abdullah — the father, the friend, and military officer.

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Erosion of Idealism Shahzad Ahmad

In an attempt to uphold the same values he is taught to avoid cheating in exams but all around him he sees people who thrive on it and turn it into a form of art. Their flourishing trade leaves him in a state of stupor which tugs at the foundation of his values. For good measure, a child learns to worship the word “competition” but it turns him into a freak that frenetically chases “numbers”. The desire to outsmart the rest of the classmates in exams puts paid to the spirit of selflessness and group growth. The will to help others in distress and collective growth fades away like an unreadable letter on a photocopy page whose toner has dried up.

The same phenomenon emerges again like a refreshed nuisance when it comes to seeking out employment opportunities .Promising candidates are lined up for the interview in their best attire, hoping to make the cut but the results of the interview fly in the face of meritocracy and person with the right connections, makes through.

We are reminded all the time, by our mealy-mouthed leaders that all humans are equal but the profusion of classes in society smashes the concept into smithereens that cannot be restored to their original status. The different social classes then define their own code of ethics that sounds absurd as their own birth was brought about by a brazen breach of the same ethical code.

During our childhood, we are fed on an overflowing diet of lofty moral principles that are embraced on their face value. At that stage of life any deviation from the status quo is unthinkable. There is no protest, no inclination to conceive an alternative model of thinking! But as a child grows and his thinking cells begin to assert themselves in pragmatic forms, the pillars of this edifying edifice begin to crumble like hastily assembled cardboards of a toy house. One by one all those moral principles written in stone break apart, leaving the child exposed to the world in pretty much defenseless condition.

Fair play and justice are considered to be the corner stone of a child’s ideology. But all these grand standing motivational springs dry up well before the child develops the maturity to review it with a critical lens. When he passes through the portals of an upscale school little does he know that his parents have given a “fat” donation to make it possible for him.

In the classroom, he is taught democracy but everyone knows any disobedience towards the “classroom chief” would be a harbinger for unceremonious expulsion so he has to surrender to the whims of the chief to stay afloat. So he learns to compromise and this unwittingly extinguishes the spark of independent thinking at an early age and perhaps explains the shortage of entrepreneurs in our initiative-starved world. The seeds of dependence are laid out well before the plant grows to its prime.

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Man who is capable to reach the highest moral standard is also able to descend to the lowest possible depths of dismal behavior. It has become a mantra, that true leaders can spell change that we are looking for in earnest. But just cast a look around the globe, and it will be discovered emptied of real trendsetters. The epoch making legends have long stopped strutting the stage of this world depriving its inmates the pleasure of seeing them unravel their heroics that stunned the .world into a state of awe. Their glorious life is etched in permanent ink of their amazing exploits that traversed all the geographical limitations, and other human created barriers, that would hamstring the mobility of many an ordinary mortal.

These days men of straw have replaced those mighty figures of the past that have neither the spunk to redefine the contours of the territories where they operate nor the will to reform the rotten system back to its heyday where manliness was considered a hallmark of greatness and it populated the globe. Today’s leaders are defined by the political systems they straddle. Rather than desiccating the system and suggesting viable remedies, they slavishly put tributes to them and in the process embrace the very impurities that they wish to remove.

Democracy is often touted as the panacea of our collective ills, but this political experiment has abysmally failed to transform the fortunes of the people. Whenever the crunch comes, it signally fails to live up to its hallowed status, and I must aver that in this

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exercise, the west is more at fault than its impoverished eastern cousin. The white man’s burden a hangover of colonial times has now become unmanageable and is threatening to implode. The western nations often come short on the grand claims that they make. Look what horrors have been committed in the name of democracy.

face all ordeals of life without any external support. Thus it symbolizes reality as its fulfillment requires resolute determination, steadiness in the face of tossing and turning and relentless hard work as converting a dream into reality is a challenging task, so idealism is not opposed to reality: rather it is steeped in it.

Sports just like other leisure activities have been reduced to a commercial bargain where players are advertised as sales merchants. The intensity of the competition, the passion for achievement and the longing for glory have all become relics of a glorious past.

I would like to consider the World Cup Football as a case in point. These days the World Cup is hijacked by a multitude of advertisers and sponsors. The electronics and print media are splashed aggressively with news about the forthcoming spectacle and people’s excitement is gradually yet systematically raised to a crescendo. But the actual event abysmally fails to match the limitless expectations before. The thrill of close encounters pales in comparison with past events of comparable nature. The determination to seize the moment and craft a historic victory is missing. The players are scrambling to squeeze the ball but the competitive streak is not dripping away as what happened before.

All the systems in the world preach equality. We are all ill at ease by the separate treatment given to the black people. But despite making sham statements there are many people who harbour initial prejudices towards them. When it comes to private conduct, our public piety is easily dismissed for public acclaim. The black community may have been able to penetrate the White House in the form of a black president but the prejudice against these people still exists. Basically idealism in its pristine form aims at dismantling those inner barriers that stop us from accepting those life-sustaining values that add to the greatness of the human race rather than reducing it to a state of beastliness. Man is capable to ascend to the highest level of greatness or descend to the lowest level and the right choice determines the track ahead.

The fire in the eyes that awes the opposition and the unflappable spirit to keep fighting till the last second has given way to a more conventional form of play that thrives on defined game plans. The game used to revel in the achievements of those who turned the game on its head by staging stupendous comebacks from a position of utter helplessness, has given way to a sense of resignation in the face of looming defeat. The drive to surge ahead and establish the primacy of one’s country amidst the most unfavourable situations is no longer witnessed. Even the commentators seem to have followed suit. Their change of intonation synchronizing perfectly with the sprinting of the strikers and capturing every heroic moment in carefully chiseled words, thus painting an incredible word picture, is now a thing of history. These remarks appear to be stale and have a lifeless character.

There is more system than style and more method than spontaneous manoeuvres thus making the game a predictable affair.

This takes us back to the configuration of idealism. It is like a dream that puts all the ruffled parts of our life in order. It is a fanciful world where all our lofty aspirations are realized and for a few moments hearts become the captains of our life. But let me clarify that despite its make- believe orientation it is not a fantasy that lights up the object for a fleeting moment but rather it is a way of life to be embraced with conviction.

Remember all the great acts border on abstraction before spreading out to the concrete presence of reality. Idealism is rooted in positive thinking and it starts in the form of a construct that aims at perceiving a maverick solution to the myriad problems of mankind.

But solutions need action: otherwise they would just be lofty notions and nothing else!

Idealism does not teach us to remain passive observers but to bring us into the fray and

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The rules and values-sets of society are flagrantly violated. A case in point is the treatment extended to smoking. Prima facie, the packet of cigarettes is coated with words “smoking is injurious to health”, yet it is available to any potential smoker without any restriction.

The face of the cancer-infested and badly disfigured mouth may be able to restrain some squeamish souls but die hard compulsive addicts would not be turned off by the shot across the bow.

All the progress that we have made in science and technology only serves to accentuate the divisions between the rich and poor. Cars with the sleekest designs, homes that drip with wealth and innumerable similar objects cause more problems than they solve. While catering to the tiny minority of the wealthiest elite, they heartlessly ignore the sparks of anguish they would unconsciously trigger in the teeming majority of impoverished people whose whole life is consumed by the toil of keeping their mouths filled up at least twice a day. Haven’t the manufacturers of these products ever spared a thought for this gross injustice? Haven’t they conceived a technological product that would eliminate the rich-poor divide rather than accentuate it! But I guess the mainstream advertising industry, in connivance with the media, consciously aims to serve the needs of the one percent ultra-rich people so that they roll in money for the rest of their lives. Why can’t we restore money to its original status of being just a tool to satisfy some of our needs, rather than elevating it to the status of a god that has a solution to all our problems? The answer to this question would perhaps solve many of our problems.

All of us admit that education and health must be dispensed without any material benefit but yet some of the most expensive medical and educational institutions mushroom the most penurious states. Patients prefer to embrace “dignified death” rather than

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languishing under the excruciating burden of fees that torment the most festering part of the wound and drives away life from it in a painful process where the patient dies a hundred times before his/her actual burial .In the same way, the educational institute exact a heavy price for having faith in their credibility as a future-shaping organization.

Their fee is affordable only for the select-few or those middle class families who wish to invest the entire resources of their hard earned money on making the future of their children as bright as the splendour of natural sunshine. On the other hand the poor people’s eyes are dazzled by the sparkling crystals of light purposefully installed in the alleys and the potential enlightenment of these so called organizations is eclipsed quite easily by the more powerful beams.

To take this thought a little further we may say, that positive social action is a proven remedy for reforming criminality and perhaps even preempting its growth. But this thought that even a lay man can discern, is indecipherable to the politician who never grow tired of dishing out platitudes on the eve of elections but cannot see the wood for the trees. Their tunnel-vision deprives the youth of their country to use playgrounds for sport that are cheap and open for all. Thus all the drug merchant, terrorists bred out of circumstances are indirectly spawned by the so called saviours whose speeches smack of saintliness but in actual terms they are the ones who breed these delinquent activities.

Their culpability is even more obvious than the actual executors of the act.

The charity organizations that garner money to advocate the cause of the disadvantaged community often show a dereliction of duty. Their so called altruistic drive is defected by the selfish desire to promote their self-interests. In practical terms, they are nothing more than egotistic people who wish to be advertised as models of piety to get some cachet as their private lives are squarely tilted against the edifying distinctions that they seek from this sham display.

We set great score by the strength of our relationships but they tend to collapse quite timidly when faced with a stern test. Lofty promises are made and words are exhausted of their heaviness when one tries to make a relationship secure but then disappointment follows that is hard to remove .Having set the highest expectations and getting virtually nothing in return shatters the trust. There is too much unilateral sacrifice. Retaining trust is the essence of a bilateral relationship. But both sides must contribute to it in equal measure. Otherwise it is bound to crack and wilt, causing irreparable heartburning so again this shows the wide chasm between reality and fantasy.

Speeches are made on grand occasions. They ring with inspiration, spurring everyone into a state of readiness for a lofty cause. But as soon as the speech ends the supercharged words fail to morph into action and people are left spiritless. They were truly inspired by the rhetorical effusiveness and a call to action but a big question mark springs to

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action over its execution. The same intensity, the same fervour and passion are no longer evident and the horrors of the practical reality set in, planting doubts in the minds and hemorrhaging the cause even before it takes off.

We all know that causes of crimes must be weeded out if true reform is to initiate but we tend to take half measures that only flare up the cauldron. Look at the response to terrorism. All world leaders agree that terrorism is a menace that has corroded the fabric of societies but their recourse to violence as a policy plank belies understanding .Violence cannot be chucked out with more violence. Negotiations are tried but with a partial slant that tends to rob them of fairness. If we cast a glance on history, it is quite evident that wars have signally failed to resolve conflicts but the hubris of supreme power fails to contain itself and time and again we have seen how it wreaks havoc on the defenseless souls causing enormous collateral damage, in the process.

The criminals are sent to prisons where they are expected to rehabilitate under the guidance of a corrective program but when they come out of prisons they are hardened criminals and even the smallest traces of humanity have been driven away. This is because most of the prison places have sub-human facilities which further sever the connection of the inmates to normal life. They are condemned to live a lifestyle which further deteriorates their questionable mental health that prodded them towards crime in the first place. The physical overstrain on their bodies deliver a whacking punch to their mental equilibrium defeating any attempt at salvation.

Nationalism, over the years, has been a source of positive gain but it also drives a wedge among communities. It leads to a sense of excessive pride in oneself as a race and other races become inferior when viewed through their jaundiced eyes. The concept of brotherhood of nation is shredded apart and there is a stiff clash of ideologies that leads to ultimate aggression. Nationalism, in principle, can be used for a better cause. It can rally the individuals to support everything that spawns the right causes like uniting together to eradicate disease to uproot corruption and to minimize the glaring disparities among classes that reduce them to predators and prey in the equation of the unequals.

All religions of the world preach equality among the people but these universal principles are flouted at will all across the world, barring a few exceptions. The minority community is reduced to a status of an alien race that is permanently pushed to the fringes of society.

They are excluded from all the prime posts and their participation in important matters is limited to an isolated role. This discriminatory treatment has “Orwellian echoes” when he says “some animals are more equal than others” in “Animal Farm”.

The world is divided into two divergent camps, which are as different from each other as chalk from cheese. One camp basks in wealth and riches whereas the other languishes

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in interminable poverty and disease. But despite this knowledge no concrete action is taken on the ground to fix this stark inequality. Massive amount of money is wasted on the manufacturing of bombs and other destructive weaponry. Sometimes the defense budget of one country surpasses its education and health budget and all the good that could have been produced is frittered away in the meaningless arms race that has the potential to gobble up the population of the whole planet. It is strange that despite having this superior knowledge, human beings cannot snap their connection with destructive elements and take more constructive approach. Even historical tragedies fail to stem this violent streak and man piles on the agony that is unleashed by the free use of the most advanced weaponry.

former is a state of make-believe or a utopian world which only exists in the imagination.

All great ideas and remarkable achievements in this world have been made possible by the strength of idealism. Even a cursory look at some of the world’s great heroes would lend credence to this statement. If people like Nelson Mandela had been realistic and practical, his 27 years in prison would have been turned into a reward at the mere acceptance of the white unfair rule. In the same way Martine Luther King Jr. would have abandoned his cause before it had taken off and similar heroes would have snuffed out the flames of enlightenment that they aspired to spread all around. And the consequences would have deadly for the human cause. All the progress and the beacon of hope would have been perished long ago.

Education is often touted as the panacea of all ills but the prototype modern system of education is perpetuating class divisions and a display of limitless wealth. It is true that scholarships are available to a select-few but even after sneaking their way into these so called fortresses of knowledge, their presence remains a side show. Those rolling in opulence do not have the sensitivity to realize that their gross display would scythe through the hearts of the impoverished saddening them and crushing their aspirations for equal status.

In my opinion, idealism is disappearing from the face of the earth because the strength of character is fast depleting. Today’s man is a slave of his desires and anything marginally troublesome incapacitates him. This ideology, on the other hand needs superhuman toil, a commitment to stand one’s ground regardless of the peril at hand. But the luxuries of the world have drowned that voice that had the capacity to move mountains. So human weaknesses and not idealism as an ideology, is responsible for the emergence of pragmatism. However, the flame is still burning in the hearts of a few select individuals and they symbolize hope for humanity

The job market is another interesting study case where again a level playing field is conspicuous by its absence. A case for meritocracy is advertised, but any discerning individual can see through the artificial veneer of hypocrisy and discover the true picture.

The fates of many a promising graduate are sacrificed at the altar of double standards and this is done at the most unfavourable period of lives of these youthful aspirants. They are just going to start their careers and any departure from principles would be like a back stab whose fall out can be lethal. Their belief in the fairness of the system is snapped and this makes them paranoids who lose faith in the goodness of humanity. This might sound to be an exaggeration but this injustice in which a less promising candidate pips them by virtue of the right connections, robs them of self-belief that is the bedrock of any laborious endeavour. Once this self-belief is smashed into countless smithereens, it makes it almost impossible for them to restore some order in their lives. It is a deadly blow to their self-esteem also.

The world is advancing in science and technology at an exponential pace but the output must be aimed at restoring the humanistic element rather than producing whopping commercial items that tend to widen the gulf between the rich and poor. Idealism is a phenomenal driving force. It has the ability to rouse people into a passionate state where they can accomplish their most cherished goals without sacrificing the principles of their lives and when this thing happens the world would become a much better place to live in!

The politicians who are responsible to provide good governance, flout their responsibility in the most blatant way, but yet manage to get re-elected. The lack of accountability because of subservient courts and the non-existence of fair play allow these rogues to thrive and their unpunished crimes serve to add to the resentment of the people who can foresee a never-ending cycle of corruption in which the voice of the common man is a distant cry and this legacy of cruelty is heartlessly passed on to the next generation.

This contradiction between idealism and reality does not in any way suggest that the

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From Illusion to Illumination — Through Order and Chaos Shyamala R. Iyer

our lives in order to give some meaning to it. What is order? What does order/organization have to do with normal living? The answer lies in one word – balance. Aren’t we familiar with words like ‘balanced diet’, ‘work/life balance’, ‘balance sheet’, etc.? Balance gives a certain meaning to our lives instead of letting chaos reign. When we experience balance, we feel secure and that makes us happy. Subsequently after achieving such happiness, does the pursuit of happiness finally come to a halt? Logically, it should stop; but often it doesn’t.

Why? Because happiness is a state of mind (internal) and is not something that originates from the object of pursuit (external). Why do we fail to recognize this illusion and not remain eternally content? It is because change sets in.

Change is the law of nature. Nobody escapes change. Change requires order to be agitated – that means back to chaos! We then endeavour to bring back order (to restore balance; to regain happiness). Most people are confined to and some are even content with this ‘chasestop-chase’ way of existence. Only an intelligent person is able to perceive the futility in pursuing this fleeting happiness. One asks, ‘Why am I not permanently happy? It is because there is a conflict between me and the world in which I live, and both have an ever-changing relationship. Why is change happening? Isn’t anything permanent? What is the truth of my existence? If truth stands for something that is unchangeable under any circumstance and is forever valid at any point of time, what could it be – that reality which I have still not been able to realize?’

“Without order nothing can exist — without chaos nothing can evolve.”

- Author unknown We live in a world of desires. Our desires chase happiness. But once we possess what we desire, that happiness eludes us. Isn’t it so? And we go on chasing… We continue our pursuit of happiness when at some point of time we may wonder when this pursuit shall ever cease.

Can we ever be happy, without ‘desiring’ to be happy? Gautama Buddha had realised that suffering is the result of desire. And to live a life without desire is impossible as long we live through our bodies. The body cannot survive without the principle of consumption and elimination. The ‘programming’ or mechanism of the body can be viewed as desire governing the ingestion of food/water/air and ejecting the excess or harmful form of the same components as faeces/urine/sweat/gas.

Our existence revolves around three factors: body, mind and consciousness. The naïve perceives the ‘self’ from outside to inside, i.e. a body with a mind and consciousness. The enlightened one’s perspective is from within to without i.e. consciousness with a mind and body. Wisdom lies in realising and embracing oneself as a unified entity of body-mindconsciousness.

Socrates said ‘Know yourself and you shall know the world’? Be it Socrates or Albert Einstein or the ancient sages and prophets – these extraordinary people as we would like to call them, were people who evolved from the usual and mundane ways of thinking and living. They were highly intelligent people who scrutinised life using their own unique methods to understand why we suffer despite all our endeavours to ensure we remain happy. What did the world look like to the first person who landed on moon; to the first person who conquered the summit of Mt. Everest? Wouldn’t anybody else wish himself/ herself to be in their place or be a part of that experience? Similarly, how would existence look like to such a genius whose life has been devoted to (and to those who have been successfully able to) find eternal peace or bliss?

“The fabric of existence constitutes the weft and waft of life and death” – Anonymous Normal life as we perceive it goes through four stages – birth, survival, growth and death.

We are considering it as normal life taking into account that most people get to experience all the four stages. Desire is ubiquitous in all these stages. Life goes through the four stages endlessly.

Most of us remain engaged in normal living; the usual day-to-day living where we organize

The first stage is birth. We live in a world of opposites working on the principle of duality.

Every form requires its opposite energy to also exist. Male and female energies contribute

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to creation through reproduction consciously or unconsciously. Either ways, it is nature’s way of ensuring continuum and balance through desire executed subtly. Birth of an offspring begins with a desire. Even if the procreation comes from a conscious desire from the individual’s perspective, from the macro-level perspective it is actually the cosmos desiring to bring forth a new form. For creation, birth is necessary and this requires the state of order to be imbalanced. Chaos emerges from order. In other words, the already existing balance (order) of a male energy with its opposite (but complementary) female energy is disturbed when a new form appears. This disturbance refers to chaos and chaos means change. For every birth of a form, death of another form is inevitable to maintain cosmic balance. The reason for this is mentioned ahead in the explanation of the last stage, death. With birth, the ‘I AM’ feeling of consciousness appears.

Survival takes off from birth, where the ‘I am’ through the mind, experiences separation from the source. Psychologists may know it as ‘birth trauma’. The ‘I AM’ identity is the first layer of ego. Ego is in essence, the mind framing its first identity as a consequence of separation – that of being an individual entity. Crystallization of the ego begins. The ‘I AM’ starts getting conditioned by self-imposed and socio- environmental factors, forming a shell layer by layer (I am XYZ). In the case of humans, the layers comprise one’s name, religion, family, nationality and so forth. The ego begins to learn and adapt to the environment, even moulding the environment to suit oneself – fuelled by the desire to survive. Survival of the self means surviving chaos and that involves the impulse of controlling oneself and controlling others. Fear is the driving force of survival and that means chaos must be managed with order. At this stage, order emerges from chaos.

Growth is where the primary needs of birth and survival have been successfully met.

Humans become philosophical and introspective at the highest level. This is only possible when the basic survival needs are met. That means a reasonable order was required to succeed up to this level. Now, change is essential to prevent complacency or stagnation setting in. Thus, horizons of learning and perception widen to understand the relationship of self with the cosmos. Where order rules birth and survival, chaos is a pre-requisite for growth and so it springs forth from order. The self evolves through chaos at all levels – physically, mentally and socially with the desire to obtain the ultimate understanding or what is commonly termed ‘enlightenment’. A collective revolution is impossible without evolution at an individual level (the self ). Here come into play the great thinkers and leaders, sages and healers, artists and teachers, scientists and doctors, etc. who bring about a fresh perspective by way of breakthrough concepts, discoveries and inventions. When we see the bigger picture, all socio-political structures including religions, cultures and civilizations become dynamic to accommodate new changes and once again order is sought to sustain the same.

for the new. The new then becomes old and finally makes way for another new to come.

This process goes on forever. Death upsets order by eliminating the old and bringing in the new. Death is the final act of balance wherein chaos on unit level leads to order in the existence as a whole.

Logic demands answers to some questions based on the above: Where does the old go? And how is it possible to have overall balance when a part of the whole is affected? What is this paradox of death being a double agent of chaos (microcosm perspective) as well as order (macrocosm perspective)?

When we talk about balance, we ought to look at it from two levels – the individual (micro) level and the collective (macro) level. The interesting thing about our creative universe is that it works on the principle of recycling. What are we referring to when we say recycling?

Remember the science lesson from our school days – energy cannot be created nor destroyed, it can only be transformed? Quantum physicists tell us that matter and energy are not different from one another. Matter is condensed energy appearing to have a certain structure based on our subjective perception. The whole existence is said to be a field of energy. So, old and new essentially represent the same energy albeit in varied forms. That means the concept of opposites is an illusion. Darkness is not the opposite of light; it is the absence of light. Cold is not the opposite of heat; it is the absence of heat. Could it be true then, that death and life are not opposites but merely appearing so? Could it signify that life is the visible part of the field of energy due to the presence of our perception and death is the absence of that very perception? That means our minds work on the principle of split perception or selective perception in order to understand the phenomenal world in which we live. Why is it said that our mind is like an iceberg with the major potential remaining invisible and unutilized? It is because if we were to perceive everything at once the sight will be that of chaos! To live is to experience; to experience means to have understanding.

Understanding requires having to split chaos into fragments using the concept of space and time. The act of splitting means separation. And doesn’t death refer to separation? That means what we consider exists no more…what we consider having been separated from us (read death) has actually taken another form in some dimension within the space-time fabric and now that old form is absent from our existing perception. This is the wisdom of reincarnation. Death is the final act of balance wherein chaos on unit level leads to order in the existence as a whole.

Death is where the old is replaced by new. Creativity means that the old must pave the way

To summarize the role of chaos and order in four stages of existence with desire as its theme: creation/birth starts with chaos. Survival requires putting chaos in order. Growth requires chaos for evolution in adherence to the creative design of the Cosmic Intelligence.

To carry forth this growth, order is required for development to continue. Death is the final act of cosmic balance where chaos occurs at a micro level but order results at macrolevel. Chaos and order are opposite yet complementary and interdependent energies. So

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far we have examined the functioning of chaos and order and the significance it has in our individual and collective lives. We notice that it is desire that fuels chaos and order. We understand now that the act of desire occurs on both micro level as well as macro level, that is to say, that when change occurs in a part it certainly has an effect on the whole – but - it does not necessarily ‘affect’ the whole. What seems to be a disruption at individual level (the self) may not necessarily affect the whole of existence (universe) but can be for the benefit of the entire cosmos. The wave when disintegrates back in the ocean may think it is no more, but if it opens it eyes and looks around it realizes itself to be the mighty ocean itself in perfection. If only we could put ourselves in place ourselves in the capacity of a wave and the universe as the ocean, we would never fear anymore, we would never think of life and death as separate but mere illusions playing on the screen of consciousness.

Now, when imagining oneself as a wave ending up as ocean ultimately, is there actually that feeling of eternal freedom and peace? Are we really happy to see ourselves dissolved – into something greater? Can we picture ourselves no more this very second? It is extremely frightening, isn’t it? Alas! It is very difficult to extinguish our precious individuality and become one with the universe. Why is it so difficult for us to understand and experience death without fear? What is the resistance that holds us back from becoming ‘Fanaa’ (the ‘self’ dissolving and merging with the cosmos) as the Sufi mystics rightly say? The answer is simple – we resist something because we are unhappy. But this simple point needs further examination.

At this point we would need to refresh our understanding so far and observe our unhappiness more closely. We are unhappy because there is a conflict reigning within us which is sometimes silent, sometimes loud. That conflict has been the result of our conditioning. That conditioning has been sown in us to base our actions on the concept of right and wrong. The concept of right and wrong has come about as a result of order/ classification/separation. So we are again left to examine what we discussed with a fresh perspective - how does order affect my ability to be happy?

Doesn’t order refer to organization through separation/classification/segregation? Isn’t it true then that order is but chaos split so as to perceive existence to achieve understanding?

Isn’t order a desire initiated by the self so as to understand chaos part by part through duality; the mechanism of duality (perceiving the world of forms having opposites) being programmed into us by nature? If chaos is an infinite ocean, then order represents the waves. In essence both symbolize water. One mirrors the other. A piece of Buddhist wisdom states that it is not difficult to perceive a drop in the ocean, but rare it is to come upon a wise one who sees the entire ocean in a drop. That there are opposites is an illusion of mind.

Perceiving something as opposite is to have the desire to remain in duality. Ego thrives on duality. Eliminating the duality is as good as death. Now observe: I exist. You exist. There is a relationship. The perceiver is the subject. The perceived is the object. For me, you are the

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object. For you, I am the object. Within you there is the ‘I Am’ consciousness. So it is within me as well. Now, what happens when this ‘I Am’ consciousness no longer exists? Feel it.

Does fear creep in? What is that fear? That fear is the fear of death; the fear of ego losing its identity. This fear makes us unhappy. Death is considered good in the overall picture as it brings about order. But when it comes to our individual selves, we cherish our lives and do not wish to be a part of this overall cosmic order. Thinking of death makes us unhappy.

This answers the question about the cause and effect link between order and unhappiness.

The mind is very clever. We suffer when we choose one aspect consciously and unconsciously reject its’ opposite. If we are bodies of energy existing in a field of energy, then thought is also energy. In time, rejected thoughts remain as suppressed memories in our sub-conscious mind. Suppression built up over a period of time become repression.

Our repressed energies surface in those moments when we experience that we have acted abnormally. Psychologists call it catharsis, in which such repressed or suppressed energies are released, resulting in peace and balance of the ‘body-mind-spirit’. Sages see it as duality dwindling away. It is no wonder then that the experience is so relieving after such an immense release that one finds peace and harmony. The gist of the aforementioned analysis is that consciously we seek duality – the illusion of opposites, but unconsciously we are always seeking our way back home (reunion).

The overall cosmos is always in balance no matter how chaotic it appears to us. Where birth is, death must be. Cancer cells are those cells that oppose death as required for growth.

When cancer cells refuse to die, they multiply relentlessly under the illusion that they can survive. At individual levels cancer cells seek and march towards immortality. But when we see the overall picture, due to these cells’ irrational desire to live on, the whole body ultimately dies to sustain the balance in accordance with the laws of nature. Real growth is when the old dies to make way for the new. That is why it is said that we do not have the same bodies as we had them say, even six or seven months back. To the wise, death is but a gate leading back to where we came from. According to Osho, birth and death are not separate. It is as if existence is divided into two sides by a common door. One side of the door reads birth. The other side is labelled death. The interpretation of existence depends on which side of the door one faces. Osho also described in a similar context, how land and water are not separate in the actual sense — in the depths of land, one finds water. In the depths of seas, one finds land.

Following are some excerpts from The Book of Mirdad by Mikhail Naimy pointing out at the suffering caused by an illusory separation nursed by one’s ego: “Yours is a world of cradles turning into tombs, and tombs becoming cradles; of days devouring nights, and nights regurgitating days; of peace declaring war, and war suing for peace; of smiles afloat on tears, and tears aglow with smiles… Yours is a world set against

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itself, because the ‘I’ in you is so divided. Yours is a world of barriers and fences, because the ‘I’ in you is one of barriers and fences. Some things it would fence out as alien to itself. Some things it would fence in as kindred to itself. Yet that outside the fence is ever breaking in; and that within the fence is ever breaking out.

For they, being offspring of the same mother – even your ‘I’ – would not be set apart.

And you, rather than joy in their happy union, begird yourselves anew for the fruitless labour of separating the inseparable. Rather than bind the cleavage in the ‘I’, you whittle away your life hoping to make thereof a wedge to drive between what you believe to be your ‘I’ and what you imagine other than your ‘I’.”

Should we not halt and reflect upon our own lives? How estranged are we from one another with our various superficial labels of name, religion, nationality, race and cultures, forgetting that we are in essence one and the same? Good and evil are two ends of the same universal spectrum. The epitome of good can be considered as God. The extreme end on the negative end of the spectrum can be considered as Devil. Religion is after all a matter of personal interpretation, but the fact remains that we change our forms within this spectrum fluctuating mostly somewhere in the middle. Some incline to one end of the spectrum, and the others swing to the opposite end. Some religions appraise these actions based on the ‘judgement day’ doctrine and some religions call function on the concept of ‘Karma’ in which actions are ruled by cause-effect principle; the ‘As you sow, so shall you reap’ theme of reincarnation. New age spiritualists and philosophers are of the opinion that all actions are rooted either in fear or in love - all positive actions stem out of love; all negative stem out of fear. But if studied carefully, fear and love are two sides of the same coin of existence. Fear is absence of love. Love is absence of fear.

To sum up, unhappiness is the result of feeling incomplete. Incompletion stems from separation. Desire is the root cause of separation/ duality. Desire causes chaos. Chaos causes evolution. Order eliminates imbalance and the process of elimination is nothing but destruction/death. Hence chaos-order, birth-death, evolution-destruction are actually complementary but ‘seemingly’ opposing energies required for cosmic harmony.

In conclusion, from our own experience we should be able to identify and measure the burden of negativity that we carry knowingly and unknowingly. Living in an illusion of opposites, we forget the truth of non-duality and remain in conflict. We are always interconnected in every way, no matter how different or separated we perceive each other from by means of our imperfect senses that keep us in illusion. With the light of this truth, let us individually kindle our minds trapped in the darkness of ignorance. When collectively illuminated, we could then co-create worldwide peace and balanced progress. The successive generations must inherit a much better world, mustn’t they?

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The Many Folds: Blanket of Darkness Ayesha Ikram Burney

Some things in life come with one meaning, one effect, one purpose. Other things, however, are more like people. They are two, three, four or multi-faced. Darkness is one of these peculiar walks of life, for everything that is not apparent, is dark. Having already touched the subject of people, let’s explore the darkness of the human mind first.

Ever heard of the term ‘shady character’? Living in the 21st century, there is very little doubt you have. According to the urban dictionary, a shady character is defined as “a suspicious, dark, untrustworthy person, usually a borderline criminal found in a detective movie.” And so we have already unfolded the first fold of darkness: something that is associated with untrustworthiness, suspicion, and lack of honesty. What does this result from, though? It results from the sheer amount of untrustworthy, dishonest and suspicious people casually strolling the streets of life. It has become a given that such people will be lingering in the dark alleyways and will use the blanket of night to hide their questionable acts. In this sense, darkness becomes an ally to such people and such practices. The term ‘darkness’ is immediately shrouded with a cloak of negativity.

However, as mentioned earlier, darkness can represent several different things. Darkness comes with the night. The night, with its glittering stars and glowing moon. The night, making amends for the damage we cause in the daytime. The night: the long awaited rest after a day’s hard work. The night: a spectacle of beauty; beauty that is a result of the

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WINNERS AND HONORARY MENTIONS

charm and magic of darkness. This is why a respectable amount of our species are night lovers. They use darkness as a blanket for protection. They use it to find solitariness in this busy, busy world. The night and its darkness are their companions and for them, the night and its darkness represent all the comfort and positivity of the world.

Fear factor. Darkness also symbolises uncertainty. Depending on who you are, uncertainty can be a large fear factor. This ties in with the first perception of darkness.

Most people are at comfort when they are familiar with their surroundings. Change is usually a source of discomfort. Uncertainty is therefore an even worse situation to be in. The dark conceals what the near future holds for us. It prevents us from seeing harm and being prepared for it. Many a times, it is just the irrational thoughts that creep to our minds in the dark. Irrational or not, darkness instigates fear. But that too depends on who you are.

There you have it: darkness. Like many other things in life, it can be interpreted in many different ways. How it is interpreted says much more about you than it does about the term itself. Darkness is just eight letters rearranged in a certain way; you give it meaning.

How do you define darkness?

GENERAL ESSAYS Emenyeonu Joseph The Man Mandela (1st Prize winner)

Arun Anantha Pai Save Our Souls...

Save Our Lives (2nd Prize winner)

Sujata Sengupta Mom’s the Word (3rd Prize winner)

Criselda Monice Razo A Selfie World (Honorary Mention)

Julie Poziat Science vs Religion: A Modern Invention (Honorary Mention)

Katharine Abraham Going Beyond Self (Honorary Mention)

Naresh Rao The Omani Blessed Renaissance (Honorary Mention)

Rahma Abdullah Rashid Al Aamri

Russel Yusuf Ogston Homecoming (Honorary Mention)

Shahzad Ahmad Erosion of Idealism (Honorary Mention)

Shyamala Iyer

My Father is Abdullah (A Tribute to My Father)

Ashima Prakash

Impact of Disney Princesses on Peoples’ Lives

(Honorary Mention)

(Honorary Mention)

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Ayesha Ikram Burney The Many Folds: Blanket of Darkness (Honorary Mention)

From Illusion to Illumination - Through Order and Chaos

(Honorary Mention)

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At the award ceremony – 24 May 2014, Al Falaj Hotel.

SHORT STORIES

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